Bottle capping machine



T. S. BELL.

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED, MAR. 3. 1917.

Patented J 11116 24, 1919.

I0 SHEETS-SHEET l.

" W 175! I 1.91 IP6 7 4,2

' 301 a v M6 I o e 1291.

"-mww lmmm,

T. S. BELL. BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE.

I APPLICATION FILED \R. a. 1912.

1 307,843. I Patented June 24, 1919.

I0 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ki-films P Q v QEG NJ 5 attorney T. S. BELL.

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3, I917.

l ,fimlfiw, Patented June 24, 1919.

1'0 SHEETSSHEET 3.

1,90 E 15? 25 1w L) 12,? r

' 2.9 14M i ,8? 18 14 1 139 O 1.94 v 1&9

$32.7 v Q I A98 9 T. S. BELL.

BOTTLE CAPPI-NG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3,19l7- I l 01843. Patented June 24, 1919'.

I0 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

gwuewfoz T. S. BELL.

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE. APPLICATION FlLED MAR.3.19I'7.

lfiUT/fiM. Patented June 24, 1919.

k 7 l0 SHEETS -SHEET 5.

9/? Fty, 5..

' TVS. BELL; some CAPPING'MACHINE.

APP'ucAnoN FILED MAR. 3. 1911. l $@%@%3 Patentedlune 24,1919.

l0 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

Max

T. S. BELL.

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. 1917.

' Patented'June 24:, 1919.

' my a 1 r v -T. s. BELL. BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE:

Patented June 24, 1919.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3.1917. L3U7,84=3.

T. S. BELL.

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR-3.19fl7.

1,307,843. Patented lune 24, 1919.

R q lOSHEETS-SHEET l0.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

rno vms s. BELL, ornemmonn: MARYLAND, assrenoia- ,BY, mEsnE ASSIGNMENTS,

ONE-HALF 'I'Q JOHN WHITEHURST, OI BALTIMORE, MABYLAND.

Borne-can ne momma.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 24: 1919.

Application as March a, 1917. v Serial 1%. 152,188.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs S. BELL, a citizen of the United States of'America, re-

siding in the city of Baltimore, State of I use on milk bottles and designed to protect the entire external-surface of the botthe with which 'the ,milk'may 'come'in contact in handling, pouring and so forth, as well as to form a tight 'and impervious closure for the bottle which ma 'be conven-. iently'removed andwhich, in being removed, is completely destroyed so that the contents Y of the bottle cannot be tampered withby take out a portion of the milk and replace it ,fectly apparent.

unauthorized, persons, as delivery 'wagon drivers who 1n some instances open the bottles under the most unsanitary cond1t1ons,

with water obtained fromflany convenient the fact that the bottle has-heen'opened per- The present'invention relates to a machine for and method of applying. the cap described in my previou's'patentf" The method consists in a series of steps some of which may be widely varied or entirely eliminated within the scope of my'in-ven'tion, the essen tial features'and the scope of the invention being more fully" pointed out in the claims.

In its preferred form, the method" of capping bottles in accordance with my in vention consists; in feedingaweb, feeding bottles into alinement'with thevweb,ci1ttingfrom the-weba series of blanks, one correspo ding to eachbottle, creasing each blank sot at ts edges may becrimped or planned to conform "to the neck .of the-bottle, holding the edges in 1" crimped or plaited position in contact with the neckand winding a pastecoated strip of aper around;- the periphery f the cap or vjs irt to ho1d it in'close contact: with the bottle neck, .r 7 Other refinements and detailswhich have little if any bearing on the machine strum 1 matically,

'tam1nation duri ture or on the capping method, relateto the provision of a web having a strengthened rib which preferably extendslongitudinally of the web'near its transverse center so that the caps, when applied, c'ontaina strand or fiber or strengthened portion intersecting I the cap near its center which serves as a thus formed'in the edge of the cap provides an aperture through which the paste on the 'enci'rclin strip comes in contact with the bottle. he tab, on the other hand, projects from beneath 'the band opposite the notch,

which may be termed thetearing point, the tab being used as a means of engagement fgr applying tension to the strengthened rib whereby the cap is torn in-two alon the line of the rib toward the. point where t e cap is "S cured to the' surface of the bottle by means 1 I x of "the paste entering through the notch; source along the way. If the -'cap is -re'- moved, it cannot be replaced without making The organized machine herein illustrated consists of several groups of mechanism comresult. The groups of mechanism referred to consistof means for feeding a paper web,-

means 'for cutting theweb'mto blanks, means for creasing the blanks fo'rming plaits or crimps'and causin the blank to cover the bottle opening and rin each ca blank downa ut the bottle neck,

means f material, means. for bringing-the strip or "band into contact with-the periphery ofthe p,' means for rotating eachbottle a s'ufii l cient number of turns to wind the strip se- ,curely about"the edgeJof-the cap, whereby the'eap is held. in, fixed position on the bot- 121e,: and means for-severing. the band at in ng the periphery of p r. feeding abandof paper or other tervalsf These groups "of mechanism may e variously arranged and grouped or separa ed.

Other advantages of the machine, aside I 'fromjthose discussed, arefthat it manufactures the cap e min'atmg all possibility .of con- P z p s n or resulting from thecap-. the

andappliesittothebottlei'auto,

operate that it may be used with a high degrpe of efliciency by almost any grade of he p.

' Inthe accompanying drawings, I have illustrated so much of a machine embodying the features of my invention, together with the cap which in its finished condition applied to the bottle, is the product of the machine, as' is necessary to a complete understanding of my invention.

Figure 1 is a front .elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation taken from the left of the operator;

Fig. 3 is a view taken in a plane parallel to the plane of Fig. 2 showing the lower portion of the machine, certain parts bein roken away and sectioned to give adde clearness' of illustration;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation showing the die carrier, bottle support, etc.,' certain portions being. broken away and the parts being shown in the relations they occupy when the bottle' is in its upper position;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the top portion of the machine includingthe bottle gripping and spinning mechanism; 7

Fig. 6 is a section on the'line 6, 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a view of the cap onthe bottle gear and rack for operating the feed mech- Fig. 11 is a sectional elevation parallel to F g. 8, showing the internal and external dies, and crimplng mechanism in operative relation to the bottle;

Fig. 12 is an 'enlarged central section through the'dies;

Fig. 13 is a rear elevation showing-the rack, ratchet, gear and chain for spinning the bottle;

Fig. 14 is a planof the banding mechanism showing "a bottle in section to maintain a sufiicient scale for illustration, a portion of thebandingmechanism is broken away an'd'shown in fragmentary form, in the ups I This fragment is broken away on the line (pot the main figure which corresponds to line a i of the broken-away portion, the parts bearper- -righthand corner of .the sheet.

ing their true relation when these lines are superimposed; l

- "Fig; 15 is a section on the line 15, 15, Fig.

. 14, showing the mechanism for weakening the band to determine the point of breaking; Fig. 16 shows the details of this n 'echa elevation of the banding gers;

Fig. 21 shows the crimping ring, etc, in connection with the crimping die; and

Fig. 22 shows the crimping ring, fingers and die operating on a blank in connection with a bottle.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, the machine, as shown, includes an upright frame 1 having a vertical, central shaft 2 mounted to slide in the direction of its length and composed of a plurality of separate members having a relative motion in the direction of their length. Mounted on the frame to swing about a pivot 3 is an actuating lever 4 controlled by means of a pedal 5 which is forward of the pivot 3. Back of the pivot, the actuating lever 4 is slotted at '6 to receive a bolt by which the lever is connected to a thrust rod 7 which forms the lower element of the central shaft 2. This rod enters the lower end of a tube 8 which forms the middle element of the central shaft 2. In the beginning of the'operation which will be described inthe course of the de-- scription of the machine, the rod 7 is locked in position relatively to the tube 8 by means of any suitable latch, as that shown in section at 9 in Fig. 3, which is adapted to be disengaged when in the stroke of the machine as hereinafter described, the central shaft reaches a certain predetermined degree of elevation. The latch- 9v consists of a block 10 apertured at 11 to receive the tube 8 and clamped to the tube by means of a screw 12. This block 10 is provided with a sliding bolt 13 which, as shown, is apertured at 14 to encompass the tube and thrust to the left in the View, Fig. '3, by means of a spring 15v which bears against the tube 8 at one end and against a pin or shoulder on the bolt 13 at 16 at the other end, pressing the catch porlease is accomplished by means of a stud 20 mounted in a suitable aperture in the block 10 normally withdrawn by means of a spring 21and forced downward so that an inclined face22 engages the end'of the plate 13 and thrusts it to the right, releasing-the latch when at the predetermined point in the stroke theupper end of the stud 20 strikes a suitable adjustable stop 23 on the frame.

This rod'projects above the tube and a port1on of it, normally within the tube, is provided with rack teeth 26 engaged by a pinion 27 mounted-on a bracket 28 in turn mounted on the tube 8. The pinion 27 projects through a slot 29 in the tube into engagement with the rack'teeth 26 and'a lso engages an oppositely disposed stationary rack 30 secured to the frame so that when the tube moves the pinion 27 is rotated by the stationary rack 30' and by engagement with the teeth 26 'gives the rod 25 a longitudinal motion relatively to the tube 8 in the same direction as that in which the tube is moving and an increased or multiplied motion relatively to stationary objects, as compared to that of the tube.

When the tube 8 reaches the upper end of its traverse, which is likewise the upper end of the bottle traverse, the latch9 is released and the tube 8 islocked relatively to the fixed portion of the machine, this being accomplished by means of a latch 32 sliding. on a fixed transverse support 33 on the frame and controlled by a spring 34 which bears on a suitable abutment 35 on the sliding latch the frame, the spring being secured a stationary abutment'36 on and guided by means) of a sliding pin 37. The plate or latch proper 32 is apertured .at 38 32 and against Y to receive the tube and the latter is slotted ternal die 44, see

c ofthe cam surface 59jwhich' is carried by the rod-25 and there- 'ff iore has a vertical j motion relatively to the at 39 to admit the edge of the plate, the

tube being locked and supported on the frame when thelatch engages the notch 39 and released whenlthe latch is withdrawn to theright against the tension of the spring 34 which urges itto the left aS seen in Fig. 3. This withdrawal of the latch is accomplished by means of a cam surface 40 carried by the bottle spinning rack 41 which reciprocates vertically at the left in Fig. 3. Referring now to Figsfi4, 8, 9,11 and 12, the tube 8, forming an element of the composite shaft 2, carries slidalb'ly mounted at its upper end and secured at intervals against sliding by means of a latch 42, a bracket '43, known as the internal die bracket which sup-ports and carries the inparticularly Fig. 11. This bracket is mounted to slide in suitable ways 45in the frameof the machine and is provided witha'hook or latch 46, shown'as engaging an aperture 47' t'o'supportthe inter- .hal

die bracket at the uppermost point in its traverse' The hook 46 is thrust forward by -a suitable plate spring 48 causing it to enter the opening '47 when it comes'in registration therewith. The hook released by contact 51o the tail of the latch lever 46 withvthe dog 58 on the crossbar rriage 43 {is hereinafter described.

has been stated that the ,internal'die'- a iage 'i's connected to the tube by means'of p a latch 42. This latchis released at the top of the traverse and the carriage is held 1n position during a portion of the operation .by the hook 46 which serves to suspend it on the frame. The latch 42, as shown in detail in I ig. 9, is similar in construction to the latch 9 shown in Fig. 3. It consists of a sliding plate 52 apertured to. pass the tube and normally drawn to the left by-means of a spring 53 so that the edge of enters the iThestud 55 having a pointed or cam surface, as

the plate along the aperture 54 corresponding slot in the tube.

shown, engaging the edge of the plate 52, is withdrawn and held'in retracted position by means of a spring 56 and when the die carriage reaches the upper end of its traverse, the stud 55 comes in contact with the adjustabie stop 57 thrusting the stud downward so that its inclined surface acts on the edge of the plate 52 moving it to'the.

ment, the cutting surfaces beingdesigned'to,

produce a blank which is preferably of the kindshown, though it may be of any shape convenient for the formation of a cap of the type illustrated. The cutting edges are the internal and external die. 'The internal die 44 is in the form of a ring, shown as of L-shaped cross-section with thebase ofthe L turned outward, and mounted within the, ring of the external die and in the present instance secured thereto, is a plaiting or crimping die 62 in the form of the frustunl bf a cone having grooves 63 in the conical surface parallel to the elements of the cone.

Coiiperating with the crimping die 62 is a crimping ring 64 securedvto and mounted within the rin of the external die, carrying crimping ngers 65 pivotally mounted on the internal periphery of the ring, one corresponding to each of ,the grooves 63, see Fig. 21'. In the crimping ring, as illusindicated by reference character 61 on both trated, there are small brackets 66 slotted or arrangedin pairs, one pair for each finger and each of the crimping fingers 65' has a fin" 67 which enters into a slot and isheld by a'p vot-pin' 68. The pivots 68 are near the lower. ends of the fingers and these fingers, actuated by gravity, normally swing inward about their pivots so that they hang .in' a substantially horizontal plane. --see Fig. 21, determinedby the positions of the contacting 'surfarss, ready to cooperate withthef-cr mpin'g die or cone and swing upward in'to- POSltlOnPELI'flllGl to the bottom surfaces of the grooves as the cone rises, the diameterof the conlcal crlmpmg die near its lower end, measured from the bottoms of pins 70 seated in the frame or in the external die. Instead of supporting the plate rigidly, it is found advisable to have it free to give upward on the pins 70 which are out of alinement with the internal die. For

this purpose there are springs 71 between the fixed member and the plate so that in case of any difliculty in the operation, it

'may yield to the action of the internal die.

The plate '69 is shaped to support the paper outside the dies and does not extend between them. It prevents the cut paper from following the die on the downward'stroke.

As will be hereinafter described, the paper is fed through the slots 72 in the frame; the internal die is raised at suitable intervals into contact with the external. die; a blank is c'utfrom the web-and'the die moves on. -.upward, the blank being-carried up by thecrimping die 62 which crimping ring 64, the the grooves63 pressing resses it into the the paper into the grooves and forming a crimping capready for appllcationfto the bottle. '35

This is accomplished by what may be termed the first operation, the tube 8 and the lower thrust rod 7 moving up as a unit.

The bottle to be operated upon when first fed to the machine' is placed on a bottle supporting table 73, Fig. 11, which is mounted to slide vertically in the internal: die carrier 43. Forthis purpose, the table '73 has fol} lowers 74, see 4 and 11, to slide in slots 75 .m the vertical arms of the carrier 43, the slots 75 terminating abruptly in abutments 76 at their. upper ends. Thai" rod ,25

carries'at its upper end astud .77 which extends through an aperture in the center of the table 73. Below the table '73 encircling the aperture is a boss 7 8 and: thereis a pin 79 in the boss passingthrougha slot 80 in the stud. In addition to the stud 77, the plate 73 is guided by pins 86 seatedi'n, the cross-bar 59 and these pins also serve to position the spiral springs 87 which support the table.

. -The' gearing comprising the rack 26 which .is integral. with the rod 25, the rotating in'' ion 27 carried on the bracket 28-secure ito theupright tube 8 andmeshing with both the moving rack 26 on the rod 25, and the stationary rack 30, has been described. The

' operation-of this gearing is apparent. During'the upward traverse of the tube 8, the

gear 27 is likewise moved upward. Meshngers entering v tube 8 and ing with the stationary rack 30, it is rotatedand at the same time it operates on the rack 26 causin the rod 25 not only to travel with the tu e but to move upward relatively to the tube and thus give a multiplied motion to the rod. This multiplied motionis communicated to the cross-bar 59 on the yoke 81 and this-acting through thesprings 87 raises the table 73 with the bottle thereon and pushes it upward-through the dies engaging the paper cap which at this time is held by the crimping mechanism. The bottle, being centered with the cap by means of the internal conical surface of the crimping die 62, engages it; the cap is seated evenly on the lips of the bottle opening and carried upward by the bottle and drawn out of) and released from the crimping mechanism, which, as has already been stated, does not grip the paper tightly. As the upward motion continues, the latch 42 is released, as previously described, and the hook or latch 46 enters and engages the aperture 47 and the internal die carriage 43 stops.

The cross-bar 59 and the rod 25 being carried upward by the action of the rack 26 and the gearing meshing therewithcauses the" followers 7 4 to come in contact with the shoulders 7 6wcom-pressing the springs 87 so that the stud 77 projects from the table and supports the bottle as a central plvot during the'spinning of the bottle. At this point the latch 32 engages and sup orts the the latch 13 releases t e lower rod 7. j I

. The next operation is the spirming of the bottle and winding of the band around the skirt of the cap. The spinning mechanism 'is shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, '5, 6 and 7.

As the lips at the top of the bottle rise above the opening in the crimping ring, they enter an invertedcup 90 carried at-the lower end of a vertical rod .91 which is mounted to slide in a hollow shaft 92 which shaft is.

mounted to rotate in suitable bearings in a bracket" 93 secured to the top of the frame. The rod 91 is suitably weighted as by means of a ball 94 at its upper end, and-the cup 90 is so designed asto form a rather close fit over the lips of the bottle-covered by the :paper cap so as to form the periphery of the cap and turn it downward over the bottle lips. As the bottle moves upward, ,it lifts" the cup 90, the rod- 91 and the weight 94 I and enterfs betweenthe grippers 95.

The grlppers as shown, consist of a series of levers intermediately pivoted at 96- on asuitable support 97 carried bythe shaft 92 at its lower end and shown as constructed in the form of an inverted cup adapted to admit the cup 90. The gripper levers 95 normally hang by gravity in a position slightly inclined outwardly from the vertical and, as shown, are provided at their lower ends with fingers 98 curved each in the form of serves to normally draw the shaft 92 down to the position in which it is shown in Fig.

a circular arc, as hereinafter described. The lower arms of the grippin levers are, of sufficient'length to put the gers 98 just below the lip of the bottle so that theyengage the upper. portion of the skirt or what may be termed the waist-line of the cap,'and at their upper. ends, they are provided with a ball or other suitable bearing member 99 which is engaged from beneath by a disk 100 which is apertured to take over the hol- 10w shaft 92 which rests on the upper side of the bottom of the inverted cup 97. The disk 100 is provided with downwardly projecting studs 101 which pass through the cup 97 and enter the space 1nclosed 'by the cup. The balls or hearing members 99 at the upper ends of the levers 95- are pressed from above by .a circular disk 102 also centrally 'apertu'red to admit the shaft 92 and pressed downward by a spring 103 which engages the hub of a sprocket 104 secured to the shaft and driving the'banding chain as hereinafter described. As the bottle rises it carries the, cup 90 and the shaft 91 upward so that the li'p andneck of the bottle with the cup '90 enter the cup 97 from beneath. The upper surface of the cup 90 engages the pins 101 lifting the disklOO whereby the balls 99 on the upper ends ofthe levers 95 are forced upward against. the tension of the spring 103, the grippers are rotated in vertical, radial planes concentric with the shaft 92 and with the bottle, and the grippers swing inward and engage the waistline of the cap as already described, gripping the bottle within the cup and holding it firmly. The hollow shaft 92 carries a beveled gear 105,which is keyed to the shaft by spline 106 which prevents rotation of the shaft relatively to the gear but permits the parts to slide one relatively to the other.

109, the upper and lower of which areapertured to receive the shaft 92 forming a hear-- on the top surface of the arm 108 and serves tosupport. the hollow shaft in the bracket. A'bovethe arm 107 is a collar 112, also secured to the hollow'sha'ft 92 and between the collar and the lower surface of the bev eled gear 105 is a spiral spring 113' which 5 so that the shaft may, to accommodate different sized bottles and unde other'circumstances, be pushed up through the --gear compressing the spring 113. The inner rod.

or shaft-91. is normall supported in the position shown by' a col an 115 secured thereto and resting on the top surface of the bracket arm 109,

T'hebracket 93 has three 'horizontalarms 107, 108,, and

Meshing with. the beveled gear 105 is asecond beveled gear 116 mounted on a horizontal. shaft 117 having a suitable bearing 122-, mounted. below in, the machine frame,

see Fig. 13, to the sprocket 119. This shaft 122- is in turn driven by a pinion 123 secured ,to the shaft and meshing with the vertically reciprocating rack 124 actuated by a vertically sliding rod 41, the rack h'aving, as shown, a tail or stem 133 which enters a hollow or socket 134 in the upper end of the sliding rod 41, the operative relation of gagement of-a shoulder 135 on the rackwith the upper end of the rod. The rod 41- is the rack and rod being determined by enactuated by a lever. 4 which engages its being provided at the lower end of the rod to ease the contact of the parts. In the form of the invention shown, the rod 41 is lower end, preferably at intervals, rollers '4' pressed downWard-byspiral spring 126 encircling the rod and hearing at its upperv end against the frame, particularly in the present instance, the cross-bar 129 thereon and at its lower end against a collar or abutment 127 on the rod which is guided in suitable hearings in the frame, particularly the cross-bar 129 and the cross-bar 130'in the form of the machine shown. The collar 1.27-also acts as a stop to limit the downward motion of the rod by contact with the crossbar 130.

The upper end of the rod 41 comes into engagement with the shoulder 13 5 at the lower end of the rack 124'after the" rippers have taken hold of the bottle, t e feeding of the end, of the band having in the meantime taken place. The rack. immediately moves upward rotating the pinion .123 and hence, the* shaft .122 which carries adja'cent the, sprocket 121 a ratchet 136 secured] 1 to the shaft, the sprocket 121 being'provided motion to be hereinafter described so that.

the bottle rotates after the end'of the rod 41 comes. in. contact with the shoulder 135. f or the remainder of the 'timethat thefootis pressing downwardon the pedal 5 and the lever 4 is swinging upward'about the 'ivot 3. At the end of the upward stroke, t efoot,

hav ng been tgkenfrom theped'al 5 and the.

support having-been removed from beneath the bottle, as hereinafter described, the rod 41 drops 'ca'rryingdown with it. the rack 124 which'is connected to the rodjby means of a pin l40fjis'eated in the upper end of the .rod andenga'ging the slot"'141 in the tail' of the 'rack so that incase the rack sticks, the

rod 41 draws it down. During the falling of the rack 124, it is still in mesh with the pinion 123 but the reverse rotation of the pinion and shaft causes the teeth of the ratchet 136 to escape the pawl 137 so that no inotion is communicated to the sprocket 121 and there is no backward rotation of the grippers.

During the rotation of the bottle, the band 10 "at the bottom of the skirt of the cap has been applied by a banding mechanism provided for that purpose and to be hereinafter described.

When the lever 4 is at approximately the top of its stroke, the spinning of the bottle having been finished, the cam surface 40 on abutment 58 into contact with the cam surtion of the carriage might be too slow to get.

the sliding thrust rod 41 engages the end of the plate 32 releasing the tube 8 so that it moves downward, being partly supported by the foot lever 4, the upper end of the out of the banding mechanism and descend.

The inner die carriage 43 with the die, e'tc.,

is however still supported on the hook or.

latch 46 but the cross-bar or rod 59 carried on the rack as it passes down, brings the face 51 and'the latch lever 46 releases the latch so that it moves downward until the shoulder 145 engages the supporting surface or stop 146 on the frame. As the accelerathe parts, particularly the plaiting or creasmg finger, etc., out of the way of the paper beingfed' in, it is thought advisable to increase its gravity accelerative motion and- -for this purpose, a spiral. spring 148 has been placed between the collar 147 on the tube or hollow shaft 8 and the carrier, the spring being seated ,in a socket in the carrier. at 148'. The tube 8' moves on downof the tube engages the stop washer 148' on the die carrier or until, the carrier and the" tube being then in their normal relative, positions, the latch 42 comes'into engagement.

. As the actuating lever propelled the I becomes engaged wi weight of the parts resting thereon continues its downward strokei1 the latch 13 again t bottom push rod 7 and the reciprocating parts have returned to normal position.

After each capplng operation, it/is nec- "essary'to provide paper for a new blank.

I This is accomplished in the machine illustrated' by means of the feeding'mechanism the slot 19 in the shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 10. The paper is supplied tothe machine in the formof a web 300 from a roll 301 on a suitable rack 303..

The web is fed through tension rolls 171, see Fig. 1; thence it passes through open-' ings 72 between the dies and over guide roll 172 to the tensionwheels 173 having radiating prongs 17 4 which pierce the web and engage it. with the wheel by. presser rollers 175 slotted to admit the prongs. These wheels are mounted on shaft 176 and spaced apart so on a small lever 17 8. pivoted on the frame and pressed downward against the feed wheels or rolls by plate springs 181.

To supply the paper to the dies in the proper sequence, it is necessary to feed forward after each cap-pingoperation a length of paper equal to the diameter of the blank cut. In other words, thefeed wheels 173 must be rotated step'by step at proper intervals corresponding to the operations of the machine and turning the circumference of the wheel through an are equal to the desired length of paper. This is accomplished by means of the reciprocating motion-imparted to the tube 8 which carries the arm 1.87 which is apertured-to receive the rod 185 to which a rack 182 is secured. The rod 185 extends-downward through an apertured bracket 183 on the machine frame and is encircled by a spiral spring 184 which bears against the top surface of the bracket and against the collar 1.86 on the rod 185 immediately beneath the arm 187. The rack 182 engages a pinion 188 loosely mounted on the shaft'176 and carrying a pawl 189 7 feed wheels 173 are s'ecii'red to the shaft 176. Ward until the collar 147 on the upper end The-tendency to backward rotation of the shaft 176 by which the paper might be loosened or permitted to feed back into the machine .is arrested 'by means of the ratchet 19] secured to the shaft and engaged by the pawl-192 on the bracket 1.79.

The pinion 188 and the rack 182 with the stroke of the rack provided-by contact of arms 187 with dogs 186 and 185 alternately, are so proportioned as to give a feed of'the paper equal to the diameter of the" I dies which has been expressed as the length of the desired blank. This is during the downward traverse of the shaft 8.

The banding mechanism by means of The paper is held in contact.

which the bands referred to are wound is broken at a-(z to provide room for a complete showing, in elevation in Fig. 19

and in detail in Figs. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, consists of a horizontal plate 200 known as the banding plate, mounted to swing about the shaft 201 and other functioning -parts by which the paper band is delivered broken into. lengths and wound about the skirt of the bottle cap. The plate 200 is actuated by. a sliding bar 202 which is movedback and forth in the direction of its lengthby suitable means as a swinging lever 203 which carries a follower 204' engaging a cam 20.5 mounted on a vertically sliding cam rod206. This rod 206,-which is mounted suitable bearings 207 on the frame, is in turn actuated by the vertically sliding rod 41 which carries an arm 340, the same being seeured at one end to the sliding cam rod 206. and at the other end'to the vertii should benoted that there is a considerable cally reciprocating rod 41 of the bottle spinning gear (Fig. 13). .In this connection, it

amount of play or lost motion at 208, be-

tween. the rod 41 and'the rack 124 or the shoulder 135 thereon so that the bottle spinning mechanism which operated by the rack 124 does not begin to/move until the sliding cam rod 206 actuated by rod 41 has moved up a distance equal to the space 208' between the top end of-the rod 41 and the shoulder 135 on the rack 124 which introduces. an interval of rest betweenthe time when the cam 205 begins to operate on the jroller 204, and hence the initial motion of thebanding plate, and the time thatthe vb0t tle begms to rotate.

' In theprefsent form of the machine after the bottle'is* inserted and just prior to the commencement of the spinning of the bottle, the cam 2053*moves up sufiicie'ntly'to cause the inclined cam surface 209 to act on the follower 204 swinging the lever'203pto the left, Figf13 being aback view, and; giving the swinging motion ofthe banding plate. During the bottle spinning opera:

'tion, the cam 205moves on upward and the Vertical surface 210 ofthe cam passes the roller,which is finally engaged by the'point the vertically reciprocating members begin 1 211 of the cam, being -causedto pass the point by thedeflector 212 also carried by the vertically, sliding rod 206,- It is 'not until to drop that the return stroke of the lever 203, caused'by the-action of the curved surface 213. of the 051111 205 on tbe'roller 204 takes place. .This motion is cushioned .byj. the spring 214 'on the pin 215 bearing" at one end against the nut 216thereonand atv the other end against the lock 21? carried by the lever 20.3, the. P111215 being shouldered or provided-with a-suitable stop as aitranscam is for the purpose of regulating the motion transmitted to the plate by the rod 202.. This may be accomplished in other obvious ways as may many of the functions of the machine. The cam surfaces to be engaged by these followers are so arra ged that at the beginning of the bottle capp'ng operation, a, when the rod 206 first moves up prior to the bottle spinning and the sliding rod moves to the left in Fig. 14, theplatc- 200 swings through a short are in left-handed, 6. 6., contra-clockwise rotation about the shaft or. center 201, and when the follower 204 passes the point 211 and engages the curved surface 213 on the cam 205, the sliding rod 202 moves to the right in Fig. 14,

causing the plate to rotate through a corre-- arm 227 carrying a pawli228 pivoted there-' on and a suitable spring229 for actuating the pawl and tending to keep it in mesh.

The rotating sleeve 225 carries a-ratchet 230 with teeth turned contra-clockwise to im- 1.

part clockwise revolution to the shaft 201 when the pawl engages the ratchet.- The sleeve 225 also carries a sprocket 232 driven by a'chain 233 from asprocket 234. on the bottle spinning shaft, see Fig.1. The toothed gear" 235 meshes with a gear 236 carrying the perforating mechanism- 237 and a gear 238 driving the band pulley 265, carrying a duckpin 239. The banding .plate also carries a cam '240 stationary thereon for controlling the pawl 228. This cam terminates at 241 and thereis a second cam 242 continuous therewith, see Fig. '14, but having its surface raised above the cam .240 so that the pawl 228 in fact escapes the cam when p 'it passes the end surface or corner 241. The cam 242 actuates the perforating mechanism. The awl 228 carries a lug 243 coiiperating' wit stationary cam 240 and normally withdrawn by a spring- 245. The-pin 244 has a rounded head 246 which acts as a follower engaging. a cam 24? which is stationary, 2'. e; rigidly secured tothe machine frame, -The perforating mechanism illustrated in sectional elevation in Figs. 15 and 16 and in plan in Fig. 14,- ni1mbered-237, consists of erasing 250 mounted tol-rotate with the gear 236. 'The casing 2.50carries a transa stop pin244 seated in the.

verse sliding plate 251 which, as shown, eX- tends across the top of the casing and is mounted insuitable ways 252 thereon, see Fig. 14. This sliding plate 251 is provided with a cam follower 252 and at the oppo-' site end a perforator block 253 is secured forward by the action of the cam 242 engaging the follower 252 as the perforator rotates, sliding the plate 251, as seen in Fig. 15, to the right moving the block 253 in a similar direction and thrusting the prongs or perforator pins 257 outward through the apertures 258 in the circumferential casing 250 of the perforator. At the same time the rotation of the casing brings the perforator pins into registration with the slots 262 between the disks 263 of the perforator roller 264, see Figs. 16 and 14,

banding plate is swinging in left-handed phase, or contra-clockwise, arresting or partially arresting the motion of the parts with the result hereinafter described and to per mit the pasage of the duckpin when the pulley 265 is rotated in right-handed phase, or clockwise. To provide for this action, the duckpin arm 275 has a path which may be termed a cam path 276, presenting an inclined surface to the pin so disposed that during the right-handed revolution of the pulley, or.when the banding plate is revolving in right-handed or clockwise direction, the pin enters the path in the duckpin arm freely, being depressed further and further as it is carried along until itv reaches the edge of the arm at the left in Fig. 14 and is released. In released position, the pin projects upward into the path of the arm 275 or rather the arm prothe band being at the time fed between the ,jects into its path and arrests the rotative roller 264 and the perforator 237, or more properly, the perforator casing 250 so that the pins or prongs 257 are thrust, through the paper giving a transverse line of per: forations. r

The main function of the gear 238 is to drive the band pulley 265 which in turn drives the-belt or band 266. This pulley is mounted on and moves with the banding plate. The belt 266 passes around this pulley, the arc-of contact with the pulley being preferably increased by the toothed guide pulley 267 also mounted on the bandingplate and driven by a gear 273 on the same shaft and meshing with gear-238. The belt 266 also passes over an idler 268 mounted on a block 269 secured to and moving with the sliding rod 202 and between the pulleys 265 and 268, a double intermediate portionof the belt 266 at 270 is guided by rollers 271 on the table 272 and arranged on a circular are concentric withthe axis of the bottle. The best material so far as has been ascertained for use in the belt 266 is flexible addition to acting as a drivin pressed pin 239 referred to herein as a duckpin This pin is seated in a socket 274 h in the pulley 265 parallel to the axis thereof and is yieldingly mounted so that it"normally protrudes from the socket but can be easily pushed back so that it disappears in the socket in the pulley. Cotiperating with the duckpin, 239 is the duckpin arm 275,

"the bottle spinning mechanism is in operation supplying paste to the brushes whenever it is needed. In thev mechanism described, the band is fed to the banding plate from a roll 285, see Fig. 1, mounted on a suitable bracket 286 on themachine frame, the band being turned and led upward through a fiat tube 287 which may be. provided with rollers 288, mounted in a suitable slot in the tube and bearing on the. band. The tube 287 leads to the top of the banding plate, see Fig. 19, whereit is bent and turne to one side terminating in a tangent to the perforating roller 264 at288, see Figs. 14 and 19.

In the operation of the banding mechanism, the band is led from theroll 285 uparound the perforating roller 264 between "the perforating roller and the casing or roller 250. The perforator roller 264 rotates contra-clockwise and the casing or pulley 250 clockwise, as indicated by the arrows, carrying the paper around the latter roll whence it passes a stationary guide 390in contact with the brushes 226 receiving a suittube 8 by the latch tion by means of the and a bottle has just able coating of paste or other adhesive. The duckpin pulley 265 rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow and serves to drive the belt 266. The band is led from the brushes in contact with the belt along an are 266 of the pulley 265 by which it is carried forward into contact with the toothed roller 267 and hence into the loop 270.

The mechanism will the supposition that the banding of a bottle has been completed and the parts returned to normal position, that is, the pedal'is up been placed in the machine.

The sequence of operations of the .machine as shown is as follows, though it may be varied within the scope of the invention. When the pedal 5 is first engaged, causing the lever 4 to swing upward, raising the rod 7, the rod 7,being at this time locked to the 9, causes the latter to move upward imparting a multiplied mogear 27 and the rack 30 to the rod 25 having rack teeth 26 which mesh with the gear 27. The multiplied motion referred to makes it possible to move the bottle the necessary distance to accomplish the capping operation with a comparatively: short stroke of the pedal and other parts. When the tube 8 reaches the upper end of its traverse, the internal die carriage 43 being locked by the latch 46, see Fig. 4, and the other parts being in the relation shown in Fig. 3, the dies having been operated cutting the blank and plaiting it, and the bottle thrust upward through the dies, removingthe plaited blank from the plaiting mechanism and carrying it upward on the bottle into the banding mechanism, the tube 8 is released from the rod 7 by the latch '9 and locked, to the frame by the latch 32 and the spinning and banding mechanism operates, the banding mechanism taking the lead because of the clearance at 208 which permits the cam surface to move the banding plate by means of the sliding bar 202 rotating the banding plate slightly in anti-clockwise direction, feeding the band into operative relation with the bottle and belt and tightemngthe belt before spinning takes place, the spinning mechanism being operated by the upward motion of the rack 124, see Fig. 3.

Referring to Fig. 3 which shows the parts.

in the position occupied by them after the cutting and plaiting operations when the bottle has reached the top of its traverse and just before the operation of the spinning and banding mechanism, the pedal being shown in its normal or initial position in Fig. 2 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the clearance in the initial position of the pedal between the lower end of the rod 41 which actuates the bottle spinning rack 124 and the bandbe considered under ing plate cam 205 will be noted, showing that the spinning and banding operations do not take place until the latter end of the working stroke.

As the cam 205 moves upward being actuated as already described by the pedal lever at the latter end of its stroke, the inclined surface 209 engages the roller 204 moving it to the right, as seen in Fig. 13, which it will i be remembered is a rear view, so that the sliding bar 202 moves to the left as seen in Fig. 14. This causes the banding plate to swing through a small arc in contra-clockw1se direction.

left-handed or Owing to the lost motion at 208, see Fig. 13, between the rack 124 which actuates the bottle spinning mechanism and the rod 41 which engages the pedal and moves the rack and is rigidly con nected to the rod 206 carrying the cam 205, this motion is completed prior to the beginn ng of the rotation of the bottle. The duckpm is in the position relative to the duckpin arm 275 shown in Fig. 14, so that the motion of the duckpin is arrested and the gear 238 and the pulley 265 must rotate relatively to the plate which rotation is transmitted to the intermeshing gears. The rotation resultmg is sufiicient to feed the paper band for ward and bring it into the grip of the belt 266 where it is pressed against the bottle as hereinafter described. The-rotation of the gear 238 also causes corresponding rotation,

rat

by it when it has made a complete revolution with the brush, etc., and the pawl passes off the end of the cam 240 at 241 snapping back into engagement with the ratchet 230 car ried by the sleeve 225 on the shaft 201 with the sprocket which is driven from the bottle spinning shaft. The initial motion just referred to also serves to tighten, the belt 266 swinging the pulley 265 upward to the right about the center 201 as seen in Fig. 14 and moving the pulley 268 to the left in the said figure. The bottle having received the crimped cap is now brought up into the bottle grippers and rotated causing the banding mechanism, 6., ratchet 230, etc., which is driven from the bottle spinning shaft to likewise rotate. The pawl 228 being new in mesh-with the ratchet 230 causes the paste brushes and the gear 235 to rotate contracloekwise. This rotation is communicated to the perforating the gear 238 carrying the belt drive or duckpin pulley 265, the latter moving in rightmechanism 237 and to used not come incontact with the duckpin arm. The tightening of the belt presses the end of the band 290 against the bottle and the latter, driven by the bottle spinning mechanism which now operates, makes a predetermined number of revolutions depending on the gearing, the rotation provided being such as is considered sufficient to make the cap secure. During this rotation, the band is held against the bottle by the belt 266 and Wound tightly around itat the periphery of the skirt. The time of operation is dependent on the relative sizes of the gears and number of teeth in the gears 235, 236 and 238. The gear 235 makes a complete revolution from the point of starting, when the pawl 228 comes in contact with the cam 240 and is thrown out of mesh With the ratchet 230. At the same time, the lug 24:3 comes in contact with the stop pin 244: and arrests the operation of the mechanism. The continued rotation of the bottle causes the band, the feeding of which is thus stopped, to break at'the place where it is perforated and further rotation in contact with the belt. 266 causes the band to be brushed smooth about the bottle skirt. As the pedal is released, the parts drop back to their original positions as previously described, the belt is loosened by the contact of the curved surface 213 of the ea'm 205 with the follower 204 swinging the lever 203 to the left in Fig.

'13 and to the right'in Fig. ll with the slide bar 202. The parts then return to their initial position in the manner and sequence already described. The bottle is released from the grippers and removed from the machine, the operation of capping being complete.

I have thus described a machine embodying the various features of my invention specifically and in detail in order that its nature and operation may be clearly understoodhowever, the specific terms herein are descriptively rather than in their limiting sense and the scope of the invention is defined in the claims:

1. In a machine for capping bottles, means for applying a skirted cap, including grippers holding the bottle with the cap attached by the neck portion directly beneath the lip, a shaft carrying the grippers and means for rotating the shaft and bottle.

2. In a bottle capping machine, means for gripping and spinning the bottle including a central shaft carrying a cup to fit over the mouth of the bottle with the cap thereon, a sleeve surrounding the shaft, a plurality of gripper levers carried thereby, means for sliding the cup with the central shaft rela tively to the sleeve with the grippers causing the grippers to close as the bottle neck enters between them.

3. In a bottle capping achine. an internal and an external die for cutting paper blanks, a grooved plaiting ring or die carried by the internal cutting die, a plurality 'of plaiting fingers to cooperate with the operate with the grooved plaiting ring.

4.111 a machine for capping bottles, an internal cutting die and an external cutting die, means for feeding a web of paper between the dies, plaiting fingers with the external die, a plaiting ring with the internal die, a bottle support, means for moving the cutting dies to cause the internal die to pass into the external cutting die, severing a blank from the paper and causing the plaiting fingers to cooperate with the plaiting die, plaiting the edge of the blank forming it into a skirt, and means for moving the bottle support causing it to thrust the bottle neck through the plaiting ring removing the cap from engagement with the ring.

5. In a machine for capping bottles, an

internal cutting die, an external cutting die, means for feeding a web of paper between the dies, plaiting fingers with the external die, a plaiting ring with the internal die, a bottle support, means for moving the cutting dies to cause the internal die to pass into the external cutting die, severing a blank from the paper and causing the plaiting fingers to cooperate with the plaiting die. plaiting the edge of the blank forming it into a skirt, means for moving the bottle support causing it to thrust the bottle neck through the plaiting ring removing the cap from engagement with the ring, and means for Wrapping a band about the skirt of the cap and neck of the bottle before it is withdrawn.

6. In a bottle capping machine, an internal die, an external die, skirt forming and plaiting mechanism secured to each die, means operating the dies to cut a blank and form a plaited skirt thereon, means for thrusting the bottle through the dies and thus removing the cap from the plaiting mechanism, and means for completing the capping operation.

7. In a bottle capping machine, an internal die, an external die, skirt forming and plaiting mechanism secured to each die, means operating the dies to cut a blank and form a plaited skirt thereon. means for thrusting the bottle through the dies and thus removing the cap from the plaiting mechanism, a gripping mechanism above the dies to receive the capped bottle as it is thrust through the dies, and means for rotating the gripping mechanism.

8. In a machine for capping bottlesmieans for plaiting the periphery of the blanks independently of the bottles. means for thrusting the bottle through the plaiting means. seating the cap on the bottle neck and re.- leasing it from the plaiting means. 

